Pictorial Artworks Research Articles

Sobre la significación en la representación paisajística del "matte painting" cinematográfico. Propuesta para una clasificación

El matte painting, técnica de elaboración de escenarios cinematográficos por medios pictóricos, acoge una de las relaciones más activas y sofisticadas de cuantas se establecen entre cine y pintura. Sin embargo, paradójicamente, un fenómeno tan singular y complejo como este, a medio camino entre lo genuinamente pictórico y lo netamente cinematográfico, no ha recibido hasta el momento un tratamiento suficiente por parte de investigaciones de carácter teórico o académico. En el presente artículo dejamos al margen su estatuto como trucaje y pretendemos contemplar el modo en que, a raíz de su particular construcción de la imagen fílmica, es capaz de soportar un análisis como obra pictórica de pleno derecho. Una reivindicación que nos confronta ante la sugestiva perspectiva de plantear el estudio de estos planos cinematográficos en relación con el funcionamiento significante del texto pictórico que portan. Contemplar al matte painting como una pintura paisajística sumergida en el interior del medio fílmico nos va a permitir plantear un análisis en torno a la intencionalidad y actitud del autor en el acto de comunicación y sobre cómo este significado es transmitido al espectador, apoyando nuestro estudio en las herramientas existentes para la fotografía paisajística.

The art market: Features of investing in works of pictorial art

The art market: Features of investing in works of pictorial art

Restoration of Murals of the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan

The paper analyses traditional and modern methods and technologies for preservation and restoration of wall paintings found through archaeological excavations in the Republic of Tajikistan. Medieval monuments such as the ancient Panjekent, Bundzhikat, Adzhina-Tepa and others gave a variety of works of pictorial art, including unique monumental paintings, the preservation of which presents a priority task for scientists, restorers and art experts. These artefacts are exposed in the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan, the Republican Museum of History and Local Lore of Rudaki in Penjikent and the National Museum of Tajikistan. The paintings portray diverse and interrelated household, mythological, religious and epic plots, battle scenes, scenes of feasts and hunting, as well as geometrical, vegetable, and zoomorphic motives. The study of these paintings helps scientists to study in detail the medieval history of Tajik people. Therefore, their preservation is the primary task of the corresponding experts. The paper is based on personal experience of the author in preservation and restoration of monumental paintings within international projects on preservation of cultural heritage of Tajik people.

Application of texture features for comparing the facture of paintings

The paper continues investigations on the development of a computer-aided method for the analysis of images of the facture of pictorial artworks. The feature description of the facture of paintings is extended. An earlier developed method of comparing a facture by features extracted from informative fragments of digitized images of portraits is applied. The features describe the direction of a brushstroke, which characterizes the artistic manner specific for specific details of a painting. A numerical experiment has shown that the value of the quantitative similarity index of paintings of the same artist (F.S. Rokotov) is higher than the value of the quantitative similarity index of the works of different artists. A portrait attributed to Rokotov is compared with his authentic works, as well as with portraits painted by different artists of the XVIIźXIX centuries. The results of the computer analysis of the facture of paintings do not contradict the results of traditional technico-technological investigations.

Zagadnienia konserwacji i restauracji iluzjonistycznych dekoracji teatralnych jako malarstwa wielkoformatowego szczególnego typu. Ewolucja postaw i metod

Painted, illusionist stage sceneries are special pictorial works of art, both in terms of their structure, technique of execution, size, function, and the fact that the “object” in their case is not a single element but a set constituting a stage setting, the values of which are preserved in the conditions of the stage or close to the stage. This text introduces the conservation issues and shows how the material conditions and the function determine not only the state but also the value of these historic objects. The process of their recognition as worth preserving heritage is also outlined. The conservation and restoration treatments carried out so far on eleven collections are depicted in a summary emphasizing the influence of gradual recognition of the value of these specific paintings on the evolution of conservation attitudes, implying the choice of proper methods and means of conservation.

Application of Structured Light System Technique for Authentication of Wooden Panel Paintings.

This paper presents a new application of photogrammetric techniques for protecting cultural heritage. The accuracy of the method and the fact that it can be used to carry out different tests without contact between the sample and the instruments can make this technique very useful for authenticating and cataloging artworks. The application focuses on the field of pictorial artworks, and wooden panel paintings in particular. In these works, the orography formed by the brushstrokes can be easily digitalized using a photogrammetric technique, called Structured Light System, with submillimeter accuracy. Thus, some of the physical characteristics of the brushstrokes, like minimum and maximum heights or slopes become a fingerprint of the painting. We explain in detail the general principles of the Structured Light System Technique and the specific characteristics of the commercial set-up used in this work. Some experiments are carried out on a sample painted by us to check the accuracy limits of the technique and to propose some tests that can help to stablish a methodology for authentication purposes. Finally, some preliminary results obtained on a real pictorial artwork are presented, providing geometrical information of its metric features as an example of the possibilities of this application.

An Approach to the Understanding of Pictorial Space: A Methodological Proposal Based on Three Case Studies

Space and time coordinates are two key parameters in our construction as cultural and social beings. They provide us with reference points in the creation of artistic images with full symbolic significance. With the aim of reflecting on pictorial space, an exercise was designed for second year undergraduate students at the Faculty of Fine Arts in the University of Vigo (Spain). This exercise, conducted under the subject Space-Time Processes, consisted in the student’s election of a single pictorial artwork from the history of art in order to subsequently carry out a pictorial intervention involving a dialogue with the space portrayed in the original artwork. From a qualitative methodological approach, an analysis of three cases was undertaken. This proposal promotes a type of active learning that lets the students take centre stage on the teaching-learning process, where they confront image comprehension as a group of visual and constructive codes loaded with meaning.

Interpretation of mid and near-infrared reflection properties of synthetic polymer paints for the non-invasive assessment of binding media in twentieth-century pictorial artworks

The goal of this paper is to evaluate the potential of reflection infrared spectroscopy in discriminating among different binding media in 20th century painting, with relation to distortion effects due to the mixing of surface and volume reflection and potential overlaps by pigment absorption bands. The study was carried out analyzing the reflection infrared properties of modern paint reconstructions including acrylic emulsion, polyvinyl acetate resin, oil-modified alkyd resin and two traditional media (drying oil and proteinaceous tempera) in mixture with a number of pigments selected for their absorption bands and their potential overlaps in the mid and near-infrared regions. Specific spectral markers were determined for each binding medium and then successfully exploited for the interpretation/classification of non-invasive reflection infrared spectra recorded in situ on eleven paintings of the second half of the twentieth century.

The Poggendorff illusion before Poggendorff.

This paper is about the Poggendorff illusion in pictorial artworks. In particular, it deals with the role played by the Poggendorff illusion in the making of the geometrical misalignments in the mosaic known as Lunetta di San Lorenzo in Ravenna (Italy) and in Rubens's oil on panel Descent from the Cross in Antwerp (Belgium). Three experiments are presented. Experiment 1 tested the role of viewing distance in perceived collinearity in the mosaic by asking participants to adjust two ends of a cross in silhouette renderings of the saint projected so to mimic its original size. Results confirm an effect of viewing distance and support the hypothesis that the author of the mosaic became aware of the illusion and attempted to 'fix' it. Experiment 2 aimed at verifying perceived collinearity in a book-size version of Rubens's Descentfrom the Cross by employing a similar adjustment method. Results demonstrate that the Poggendorff illusion affects perceived collinearity in the painting, but perceptual collinearity does not agree with the actual geometrical misalignment in book-size reproductions of the masterpiece. Experiment 3 tested the role of viewing distance in a classic Poggendorff illusion configuration by employing the same setup as in experiment 1. Contrary to what was found in experiment 1, viewing distance did not modulate the magnitude of the illusion in the classic display, suggesting that the outcome of perceived collinearity is sensitive to the complexity of the visual scene. The difference in results between experiments 1 and 3 underscore the necessity of new tests before any reasonable conclusion can be drawn about the whys and wherefores of Rubens's misalignment.

Abstracting the Set: Monet’s Cathedrals and Stable Mental Concepts from Serial Pictorial Artworks

The ability to form stable mental representations (or concepts) from a set of instances is fundamental to human visual cognition and is evident across the formation of prototypes, from simple pseudo-random dot patterns through to the recognition of faces. In this paper we argue that the cognitive and perceptual processes that lead to the formation of stable concepts are also important in understanding spectatorship of a certain class of serial artworks that are composed of multiple discrete but related pictures. This article considers the processes that enable the formation of stable mental representations in relation to a series of paintings of Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet. The implications of understanding these processes for the spectatorship of this class of serial artworks are discussed.

Advanced imaging systems for diagnostic investigations applied to Cultural Heritage

The diagnostic investigations are an important resource in the studies on Cultural Heritage to enhance the knowledge on execution techniques, materials and conservation status of a work of art. In this field, due to the great historical and artistic value of the objects, preservation is the main concern; for this reason, new technological equipment has been designed and developed in the Physics Departments of the Universities of Ferrara and Bologna to enhance the non-invasive approach to the study of pictorial artworks and other objects of cultural interest. Infrared (IR) reflectography, X-ray radiography and computed tomography (CT), applied to works of art, are joined by the same goal: to get hidden information on execution techniques and inner structure pursuing the non-invasiveness of the methods, although using different setup and physical principles. In this work transportable imaging systems to investigate large objects in museums and galleries are presented. In particular, 2D scanning devices for IR reflectography and X-ray radiography, CT systems and some applications to the Cultural Heritage are described.

The National Museums' Archeticture between Designers Vision and National Cultural Objectives , A Case Study of both the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Grand Egyptian Museum

This study focused on a common phenomenon, which is that the architecture of national museums and their internal spaces are designed according to the viewpoint of the architects of those museums and their own vision, based on personal ideas and concepts only, without being compatible with the national cultural goals of the nations and peoples who own those museums. The study used the descriptive and analytical method to study how cultural national goals can govern museum architecture as an alternative to the individual formulations of the designer with limited viewpoints. The study begins with defining the concept of the museum, the scientific definition as a cultural, educational and entertainment center, with an indication of its various functions of preserving, maintaining, and disseminating archaeological awareness, information and others, then discussing what is known as the museum system and its three elements, namely the human being, the museum’s holdings and the museum’s architecture, and from there it proceeds to study the common link between the elements of the symbolic system. The three, which is the symbol as an alphabetical unit of expression and dialogue between the visitor, the museum display and the museum architecture, and through it the national cultural goals of the National Museum and its nation are presented, with an explanation of what the expression and meaning are, and the clarification of the expression mechanisms in architecture in general between direct frankness and hidden symbolism, and then exposure in detail to The foundations of the science of "semiotics" as the science concerned with symbol and the various mechanisms of expression, especially in architecture and pictorial works of art. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the foundations of "hermeneutics", which is the science of reading and interpreting the meanings of different symbols. Through these foundations, the subject was analyzed and read the meanings of the architecture of the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Grand Egyptian Museum to determine the extent to which the design of their architecture and their internal spaces are compatible with the national cultural goals of their two nations through the museum system, as it appears after the discussion that the architecture of the Jewish Museum in Berlin "is a symbolic embodiment of the journey of the diaspora of the Jewish people, starting from the event of their exit from ancient Egypt to the event of their ordeal in Europe with Nazi Germany during World War II, which came in line with the national cultural goals and the actual purpose of establishing the museum. As for the architecture of the" Grand Egyptian "museum, it is A symbolic embodiment of the journey of the ancient Jews exiting from ancient Egypt to their new home in the land of "Palestine" and their construction there their sacred temple after their construction is the greatest features of ancient Egypt’s civilization, considering the event of the exodus and the forced labor of the ancient Jews in ancient Egypt the most important event in all ancient Egyptian history from the point of view of designers The museum is what qualifies it to be represented in the architecture of the "Great Egyptian" Museum, which contradicts in total and detail the national cultural goals of the Egyptian nation that the museum was built for approval. Then the results came The research decides to follow the designers of the architecture of the Jewish Museum in "Berlin" to the cultural national goals of the nation that owns this museum. As for the designers of the architecture of the "Great Egyptian" museum, they steered far from the cultural national goals of the nation that owns this museum. Rather, their design for the museum and its cultural mission contradicts the established historical and scientific facts.

A review of imaging methods in analysis of works of art: Thermographic imaging method in art analysis

This article discusses a number of modern techniques used for the analysis of works of art. The most widely used approaches as well as lesser known ones are outlined in terms of their applications and the kind of information on the condition of artworks that can be extracted. Special attention is paid to the method of thermographic analysis of works of pictorial art. The principles of the technique, various computational approaches, and safety concerns are discussed. A set of examples is provided for the demonstration of the capabilities of thermographic assessment, including a range of real canvas and panel paintings exhibited in museums and in private collections.

Characterization of “oil on copper” paintings by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence is a common analytical tool for layer thickness measurements in quality control processes in the coating industry, but there are scarce microanalytical applications in order to ascertain semi-quantitative or quantitative information of painted layers. "Oil on copper" painting becomes a suitable material to be analysed by means of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, due to the metallic nature of substrate and the possibility of applying layered models as used in coating industry. The aim of this work is to study the suitability of a quantitative energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence methodology for the assessment of the areal distribution of pigments and the characterization of painting methods on such kind of pictorial artworks. The method was calibrated using standard reference materials: dried droplets of monoelemental standard solutions laid on a metallic plate of copper. As an example of application, we estimated pigment mass distribution of two "oil on copper" paintings from the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Pictorial layers have been complementarily analysed by X-ray diffraction. Apart of the supporting media made of copper or brass, we could identify two different superimposed layers: (a) a preparation layer mainly composed by white lead and (b) the pictorial layer of variable composition depending on the pigments used by the artist on small areas of the painting surface. The areal mass distribution of the different elements identified in the painting pigments (Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb) have been determined by elemental mapping of some parts of the artworks.

Study of the stability of a series of synthetic colorants applied with styrene-acrylic copolymer, widely used in contemporary paintings, concerning the effects of accelerated ageing

This study examines the materials of a contemporary pictorial artwork, belonging to the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki (Greece), and needing conservation. The combined use of micro-FTIR and micro-Raman spectroscopy allowed the identification of almost all painting materials. Moreover, the stability of a series of synthetic pigments towards accelerated ageing is investigated in applications using the contemporary binding medium styrene-acrylic copolymer. The pigments in question are: Hansa yellow PY3 and PY74, quinacridone PV19 and PR122, naphthol AS PR112, phthalocyanine green PG7 and blue PB15, dioxazine PV37, van Dyck brown PBk11, ivory black PBk9, and titanium dioxide PW6. The organic pigments were applied alone or mixed with titanium dioxide, in rutile form or as a mixture of rutile/anatase. The experimental swatches were subjected to ageing tests, and subsequently studied as to colour changes by means of colorimetric measurements, and as to the molecular structure differentiations by infrared spectroscopy in reflectance mode. The ageing tests included exposure to high temperature and humidity (90 °C, 60% RH) and to ultraviolet radiation (350 nm, 30 °C and 50% RH, with a substantial temperature increase at 90 °C for 3 days). The greater colour difference is caused by high temperature and humidity, whereas paint layers containing TiO2, and especially the mixture of the forms rutile/anatase, prove very susceptible to ultraviolet radiation, demonstrating a significant colour difference and extended molecular changes.

La familia, la enfermedad, el dolor y la muerte en la obra pictórica de Edvard Munch

SUMMARY INTRODUCTION: Disease, pain and death are very significant events in life thus it is natural to see them reflected in pictorial works of art. Considering Edvard Munch had a severe expe- rience of illness and death in his own family when child, he felt the need to deepen and analyzing his life and work to discover the intrinsic meaning of disease and death to illustrate some of his canva- ses. METHODOLOGY: For an adequate evaluation and analysis Munch's life, work and historical con- text was studied. The visual support for this com- munication has been extracted from diverse picto- rial works directly concerned with terms as family, pain, disease and death. CONCLUSIONS: Painting constitutes a vehicle to express and show disease, death and to deepen in their implicit ones. Munch like a main character of a Greek tragedy painted his environment, he showed what he saw: his sister's illness, his family's pain, his mother's death and his patient awaiting of his own death. Much's work of art is like a dramatic, raw, real and unique a universe created by a tormented and solitary genius who suffered like no other human being the experience of pain, disease and death in his own family.

Presencia del Museo del Prado en el Congreso de los Diputados

Compilación de obras de arte pictóricas del Museo del Parado de Madrid en el Congreso de los Diputados

Infusion mass spectrometry as a fingerprint to characterize varnishes in oil pictorial artworks

Mass spectrometry methodology to characterize drying oil used as binding media and varnishes in pictorial artworks, prior to conservation or restoration treatment, is proposed. The analytical treatment requires prior basic hydrolysis of the samples to release the fatty acids: caprylic, pelargonic, capric, sebacic, azelaic, suberic, eicosanoic, lauric, mirystic, palmitic, linolenic, linoleic, oleic and stearic, followed by separation from the matrix by a hexane/water extraction. After removing the solvent, the remaining solid is dissolved in potassium hydroxide, propanol and methanol. The mixture is directly infused into a mass spectrometer without any previous derivatization or separation steps. The detector is operated in electrospray negative ion mode and the [M-H](-) ions of the fatty acids enable identification of the acids. Obtained data for fatty acid ion abundances are analyzed by linear discriminant analysis. The drying oils studied (linseed, poppy seed and walnut) were satisfactorily distinguished. The analytical method shows adequate sensitivity, reproducibility, speed and ease. The proposed methodology has been successfully applied to samples from artistic samples belonging to the Cultural Heritage of Valencia (Spain).

Characterization of waxes used in pictorial artworks according to their relative amount of fatty acids and hydrocarbons by gas chromatography

A study attempted to characterize natural waxes used in pictorial works of art was carried out by means of gas chromatography. The analytical treatment requires prior hydrolysis of the waxes to release the fatty acids (FA) (myristic (myr), palmitic (pal), oleic (ole), stearic (ste), araquidic (ara), behenic (beh), lignoceric (lig), cerotic (cer)) from the main esters of the waxes. The formation of volatile derivatives of the fatty acids was carried out by derivatization with ethyl choroformate (ECF). This derivatization reagent was chosen due to the speed, safety and quantitativity of the reaction. The analyzed hydrocarbons were n-eicosane, n-heneicosane, n-docosane, n-tricosane, n-tetracosane, n-pentacosane, n-hexacosane, n-heptacosane, n-octacosane, n-nonacosane, n-tricontane n-hentriacontane, n-dotriacontane, n-tritriacontane, n-tetratriacontane, n-pentatriacontane, main constituents of the waxes. No derivatization is needed to analyze the hydrocarbons. Ethyl ester derivatives and hydrocarbons are adequately separated by gas chromatography, identified by flame ionization detection and confirmed by mass spectrometry. To characterize natural waxes, peak area ratios of each fatty acids with respect to the palmitic acid and peak area ratios of each hydrocarbons with respect to n-heptacosane were calculated. The proposed method provides a good characterization of different waxes most frequently used in artworks, such as beeswax, carnauba wax and ceresin, and has been successfully applied to real samples. This is the first report on the application of ECF to the analysis of fatty acids in wax.

Superimposing pictorial artwork with projected imagery

We present an approach for using pictorial artwork as information displays and show how to combine almost any kind of computer-generated visual information directly with the painted content. We describe a novel technological approach, a mathematical model, a real-time rendering algorithm, and examples of presentation techniques. Our system displays such information while keeping the observers' attention on the original artifact and doesn't require additional screens.